Tempest Tost
by KessaBlayne
Summary: Veritas Black is torn between two worlds, both destined to ruin her life in unimaginable ways. Serving her own purposes she darts her way around family and bloodshed to prove that not all Blacks have abysmal souls. Her life takes on drastic changes when she takes in an unlikely relative, Harry Potter. Her soul posed between a black abyss and tempest tost, will her sanity survive?


Veritas walked along the dark corridor of the cells, her heart iced over and her stoic composure barely holding together in the face of the latest raid. The cells themselves were filled and the sounds of the prisoners that her _master_ kept were barely discernible over the screams that echoed in the background of the torture chambers that the various Deatheaters were occupying themselves in. Most appeared to be muggles with a few muggleborns thrown in to justify the carnage that was left over after the small community was raided. Her heart barely picked up speed as she heard the whimpers of the children held in the cells farther down the hall. She picked up her pace, her footsteps barely echoing against the walls as they slapped against the stones.

She needed to hurry or they would be executed when the dark lord returned to the manor. She reached the cell minutes later, her breathe calm and her mind and body shifting into the demeanor of her cohorts. Her swagger that to rival her _master's_. She barely repressed the shudders as she pushed open the cell doors and surveyed the victims before her. Fear filled eyes locked on her as she looked over the five children huddled in the cell. The glazed look in their eyes betrayed their panic and she instantly shifted herself into a crouch and looked them all in the eye. Near silently she muttered, "_Impæradisio_". The children left out gasps as their muscles relaxed and she brushed briefly against their minds. They all were holding strong to the illusion of the Imperial Heaven curse.

Footsteps pattered behind her, gaining as she turned and gained her full height again. Suddenly rigid, Veritas waited as the other wizard slowed and stopped in front of her. Lucius Malfoy looked into her eyes, disdain vanishing as he looked at just who was in the doorway. "So nice to see you Eris," he drawled in his best attempt at overriding the subtle surprise in seeing her in the doorway, wand drawn on him.

"Hello, brother-in-law," Veritas replied, her tone slightly scathing, " I had hoped that you would drop that particular alias, Lucius. Seeing as we are family, I would hope that that particular name would fall by the wayside. How are our compatriots doing this eve?"

"Oh, dear sister, there is no way one would forget the discord that you so easily sow on the battlefield. Our _compatriots_ are enjoying the usual pastimes. Killing, torturing, pillaging the usual. And I see that you are up to your particular habits as usual. More child servants to replace your house elves again?" His tone took on the almost abstract amusement that most other Deatheaters expressed when meet with her particular _proclivities_ as she would term them.

Her smile grew cold, her eyes shifting to a dark black that had wariness blooming in Malfoy's eyes. He shifted back, growing uncomfortable at her sudden brazen display of her gifts. "_Oh yes_, there is nothing quite like taking the filth that others would so shamefully waste and turning it into something that learns its place. Little hands are made to clean and polish as I am sure that these five shall surely show. It is so truly awful that more don't realize the potential that all my servants show, especially when I send them to Hogwarts and we get to see how well my _training_ works in the classroom."

"So sad that your Imperial Heaven doesn't work for anyone else or that so few would be able to manipulate minds to the degree that you do Veri. It would truly be wonderful. Then we could so easily infiltrate the light with the use of the Imperius and your little minions."

"Ah, but it would be so much easier to just use it on all our _compatriots_ as well. They would be so easy to direct and oh so easy to reward. I imagine that would work well on my nephew now wouldn't it. I hear Cissy is having trouble reigning in some of his moodier behavior. His age also would make it so much easier to instill all those lessons that you try to teach him Lucy. We could have a nice little leader in half the time that it would take you to raise him. By the way, I am so looking forward to having him and Articulus meeting this weekend. Remember to bring him early," Veritas replied with a sickening smile as she watched her brother-in-law pale considerably. "Oh, by the way, are there any more of the little dears here tonight Lucy, I am sure that I can find use for them at the other Black estates?"

Lucius took several seconds to respond, "No, sister, these were the only ones we took. It seems the others were either taken out by the Order or they were killed on sight."

"Pity, I do so like breaking in new servants. Well, I guess I will just have to torture the ones that killed my little dears before I could have them. You wouldn't happen to be one of them would you _Lucius_?" she drawled, her voice hissing in an imitation of her _master's_ silibant hisses. His eyes quickly looked to the side as she changed before his eyes, her eyes going slitted and glowing in the dim light of the dungeons. He tried to look away and she brought long taloned hands up under his chin so fast that he could do nothing to counter her hold. "Come now, brother. Don't be afraid to reveal all to your pretty little _Erisss_. I can't imagine that you would go against my wishes and kill the little rats before I got my hands on them, now would you?"

His hands shaking, Lucius met her eyes and showed her that he hadn't. His memories however showed just who had and she smiled, fangs biting deep into her lip as she showed him just what she would do to those that had defied her wishes. She released him and turned her back on him. Calling over her shoulder, she told him in an icy tone, "Don't worry brother. Nothing will happen to the blood of our family. I will make sure that I exact my judgment on those that defied my wishes easily. I wish to test out a few new spells anyway. Ta Ta." With that, she disappeared with the whoosh of a port key and the children she had selected disappeared with her.


End file.
